Business columnists

Sean Maher: Let's encourage the 'travelers' to keep traveling

Police are responding to a "drastic increase" in the number of calls related to panhandling, illegal camping and disturbances.

After recently busting more than 50 illegal campsites in the city limits and writing 32 citations, the deputy chief of police commented "It's definitely a problem. It's concerning, we've got beautiful downtown areas, we've got trails, a lot of great areas and they become trashed."

Not surprising to hear if you have taken a morning stroll along the Boulder Creek Path this summer.

But hold on.

The above comment is not referring to Boulder. It's from a recent Channel 4 News story about problems in Fort Collins. The quote is from Jerry Schiager, the Fort Collins deputy chief.

Another recent story in a local paper reports on the "unusually high" number of transients downtown this summer and the problems stemming from the large influx.

The Daily Camera reporting on Boulder? Nope, it was the Denver Post reporting on problems in downtown Denver.

So what we're seeing this summer is not unique to Boulder. We're facing a regional problem that is impacting cities up and down the Front Range. Why does it seem worse this year? According to the Post, most experts blame a surge of young "travelers" looking for marijuana. Kendall Rames from Denver's Urban Peak shelter stated "Of the new kids we're seeing, the majority are saying they're here because of weed. They're traveling through."

That assessment syncs with what I see every day in Boulder. Just count the number of "Need Weed" signs you see in the hands of young panhandlers around town.

So what do we do?

First, let's not confuse these "travelers" looking for pot with the real victims of homelessness. These are not local people enduring a crisis. These are drifters who have come here from far and wide to indulge in a lifestyle. I don't care if they smoke pot, but they have no right to use our parks as campgrounds and our alleys as toilets. They have no right to harass people or engage in petty crime to support their chosen lifestyle.

We should support Chief Testa and Boulder Police Department. They have a tough job and their handling of social misbehavior problems is under constant scrutiny.

On a daily basis, I see our officers engage with people from all walks of life and have never witnessed the targeting of any group. They do great work and deserve the community's support. The City Council should encourage them to keep up tough but fair enforcement efforts.

Next, our service providers should consider some conditions on who gets access to free food and other "emergency services." We need to figure out how to encourage those who need help dealing with real homeless issues and discourage those who show up here for the party.

As the news stories at the top of this column illustrate, this surge of travelers is not confined to one city. It is a regional problem, and we need to engage other impacted cities to come up with regional best practices. I've been told by our private security staff that several troublemakers downtown claim they were encouraged to come to Boulder by police officers in a nearby city.

Let's hope that is not true because pushing the problem to the next town is not a long-term solution. We need to incentivize them to leave the region.

Finally, we cannot and should not focus all of our energy and resources on those causing trouble. We still have true victims of homelessness who need help. We have to consider greater year-round access to both short-term shelter and long-term housing solutions. However, like the problems caused by the travelers, the issues of true homelessness are regional. Boulder County and our neighboring communities need to work with Boulder to share the burden of helping those who really want to improve their lives.

If you're interested in staying informed on either or both of these problems, consider attending the the City Council study session on Aug. 26. It will be an interesting discussion, and I hope at least part of it focuses on ways to encourage the travelers to keep traveling.

Sean Maher is executive director of the Downtown Boulder Business Improvement District and Downtown Boulder Inc. The views expressed here are his own and not representative of either organization. He can be reached at sean@dbi.org.

MacIntyre feels Colorado is capable of making run at bowl gameCU BUFFS FALL CAMPWhen: 29 practices beginning Wednesday morning 8:30-11 a.m. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday practices are open to the media and public next week. Full Story

It didn't take long for Denver music observers to notice Plume Varia. Husband and wife Shon and Cherie Cobbs formed the band only two years ago, but after about a year they started finding themselves on best-of lists and playing the scene's top venues. Full Story